Caught up on my IDW Transformers comics: More than Meets the Eye 7,8,9, & Annual, and Robots in Disguise 7 & 8. Love them. Good humor, good stories, some new 'Cons and new developments in the post-war (maybe) period. - 3 years ago

Going out with a uniquely British closing ceremony, the 2012 London Olympics have come to close in style. The U.S. team did a remarkable job, bringing home 46 gold, 29 silver, and 29 bronze medals. Our 46 gold medals are the most for a single country in a non-boycotted games since 1908. As I'm sure you've heard, the U.S. women were the real highlight, winning 29 golds and 58 medals total, which would place the “United States of Women” country tied for 3rd in golds, and 4th in total medals. By themselves. That's freaking awesome.

However, we also seem to need to have the discussion of NBA players participating on the U.S. basketball team. I don't know why. Most of the people having this discussion in the media follow sports all the time, were athletes in their own right, and yet still cling to what I believe is a fundamental misunderstanding of what it means to compete and be an athlete.

Competition has really only one innate rule: compete fairly and honorably. That's it. People can't always do this, which is why we have the US Olympic Committee and the International Olympic Committee. The USOC's job is the ensure that the competition to see who goes to the Olympics for the US is fair and that all the participants are eligible. Beyond that, they don't care who goes. The IOC is then responsible for making the Olympics fair and everyone is eligible, etc. etc.

Nowhere does it say that any country is responsible for making the games “compelling” or “a good watch” or whatever. That the US basketball team, which is essentially an NBA All-Star team (except for Anthony Davis and Anthony Davis' unibrow), is far and away better than the rest of the world, is not a reason to restrict NBA players from competing. That its “not fun to watch” in some sports journalist's opinion is no reason either.

In fact, if I were to imagine an alternate reality where my family moved to England and I focused on basketball instead of ultimate, where I ultimately played for England in these Olympics, I'd be genuinely offended if the US didn't field the best team they possibly could. If their best available team is just better than ours, then they deserve their win.

This year, Spain gave the US a run for its money, mainly on the strength of players like the Gasol brothers, Calderon, Rodriguez, Ibaka, Fernandez, and Claver. All of them are, or have been, NBA players. You won't hear any journalist from Spain say they shouldn't use pros, because what they want more than anything is to win. To be the team that de-thrones the United States. The world, especially Europe, has painted a target on our back in basketball, and they have come a long way towards being legitimately competitive. And they won't stop.

Here's the bottom line: The US is not responsible for the fact that we're way better at a sport WE CREATED than other countries. The rest of the world wants to play our game, which is great, and I think they understand that the US has a huge edge, and why. We send our best team, they send theirs, and we hash it out on the court. End of story.

To be completely honest, the rest of the world is lucky we have the NBA, the NFL, and MLB. We have so many high level athletes that, outside of the few chosen for basketball, will not compete in an Olympics ever. I'm pretty sure Ray Lewis could be a Olympic level shot putter, or discus thrower, or weight lifter. David Price of the Rays, or any NFL QB, could probably be an Olympic level javelin thrower. Some NBA players and NFL receivers could be jumpers, or sprinters. The point is we have a lot of high level athletes that won't compete because their sport isn't in the Olympics or they weren't the chosen few for basketball, which gives other US athletes and world athletes the chance to compete and win in their sports.

Our dominance in sports in general, and basketball in particular, is a function of our cultural commitment to sport and our high average quality of life. We make NBA, NFL, and MLB players millionaires because we love the sports and spend the money, so many of our best athletes chose one of those sports. Our high average quality of life allows many young Americans to find a sport they love, be it fencing, swimming, or handball, and find quality instruction and facilities. We shouldn't be ashamed of it, we shouldn't try to restrain it, and we definitely shouldn't do anything like making the men's basketball team 23 and under in the name of making an Olympic competition “more fun to watch.” Our job is to send the best athletes from our country to compete, and then let the chips (and medals) fall where they may. U-S-A! U-S-A!